"PRINCIPLES FOR REFORMING DRUG POLICIESWith the adoption of the sustainable development agenda as the common policy framework for all, human rights, security and development become the basis of allpolicies. We therefore reiterate the principles of the Global Commission on Drug Policy:

Drug policies must be based on solid scientific evidence. The primary measure of success should be the reduction of harm to the health, security and welfare of individuals and society.

Drug policies must be based on respect for human rights and public health. The criminalization, stigmatization and marginalization of people who use drugs and those involved in the lower levels of cultivation, production and distribution needs to end, and people with problematic drug use need to be treated as patients, not criminals.

The development and implementation of drug policies should be a globally shared responsibility, but also needs to take into consideration diverse political, social and cultural realities, and allow experiments to legally regulate drugs at the national level. Policies should respect the basic rights of people affected by production, trafficking and consumption.

Drug policies must be pursued in a comprehensive manner, involving people who use drugs, families, schools, public health specialists, development practitioners and civil society leaders, in partnership with law enforcement agencies and other relevant governmental bodies.

Our final principle, informed by this report, is to call on all members of society to look for and share reliable, evidence-based information on drugs, people who use drugs, the ways and reasons they use them, as well as the motives behind current perceptions. Only a collective effort to change our perceptions will allow for effective drug policy reform. The six recommendations in this report provide pathways for policy makers, opinion leaders, the medical community, and the general public on how to work towards this."